Posts filed under 'social life'
I’ve always thought there was something magical about watching a movie outside. My college did a couple of “Dive-In Movies” where they projected a movie over the pool. People hung around on lounges or floated in inner tubes. I also caught a big movie at a park by the beach once. There is a great thread on BackyardTheater.com about how to set up a movie theater in your own back yard.
Here’s a summary of what you need, and where to get it.
1. Video Source. This one is pretty easy to come by–you just need something that can play your movie. A DVD or BluRay player or anything else that can play one or both of these things (laptop, xBox, Playstation, etc.) will do just fine.
2. Projector. This is definitely the hardest to come by–mostly because they’re expensive. A typical projector runs $500-1000. There’s a thread about finding cheap projectors over at Backyard Theater as well, but I suggest you try to borrow one if you can. Schools and churches usually have projectors, and many colleges will let you check out video equipment, or you could find a friend with a good home theater and see if they’ll lend you a projector for the night. (But take GOOD care of it!)
3. Screen. According to the thread above, you’ll want your screen to be somewhere between 8-16 feet. To keep your costs down, it looks like bedsheets or a long expanse of white wall would be your best bet. You might have to recruit a friend with a white house. 
4. Sound. The most cost-effective options mentioned in the Backyard Theater thread were computer speakers (a good set with a subwoofer; check discount stores and eBay) or a boom box with auxillary inputs. Remember, you’re not going for home-theater quality sound, you just want to be able to hear the movie.
Extras
The Real Deal. Want to make your feature film look more like what you see in the theaters? A free video player program at VideoLAN (http://www.videolan.org/) can merge several files into one cohesive viewing experience, so you can add your own movie previews, a news reel, or pre-feature cartoons.
Snack Pack. What is a movie without snacks? Hit up the dollar store for goodies like candy, popcorn, and soda, or make it a cookout and grill some hotdogs and hamburgers. Or just make s’mores (remember, you can even make s’mores in a toaster oven.)
photo: AaronC
July 20th, 2009
As we pack up to move out of state for med school, one of my biggest regrets is not taking advantage of all the awesome tourist opportunities San Diego–and Southern California–has to offer.
Sure, I visited Disneyland, had famous apple pie in Julian, and ate some amazing New-York style pizza at a hole in the wall in Hillcrest, but that doesn’t even make a dent in my touristing dreams!
A Touristing To-Do List
With the lazy days of summer stretching out before you, now is the perfect time to start making your touristing to-do lists–one for your hometown, and one for your college town. This is going to be your go-to guide when you hit a boring weekend or need a fresh idea for date night.
Where to Start
Start by listing your local hot-spots at home and at school–the ones you’ve always heard about, but never been to. This might be as simple as midnight glow-in-the-dark bowling (a real hit where I grew up), a teeny hamburger joint, or a nearby amusement park. This is going to be your version of 1,001 Places to See.
It doesn’t have to be huge daytrips. In fact, starting simple can be the most fulfilling. (For example, when we touch ground on the east coast, I will be visiting a Dunkin’ Donuts soon afterward–and I’m really excited about it. Haha.)
Wild and Wacky
Once you’ve listed your hometown’s acclaimed “best breakfast burrito” dive, it’s time to move on to the “bigger and better.” One of the best sources for truly strange–and often little-known–tourist attractions is the Weird U.S. book series. (Some states have entire books dedicated to them!)
Another recent (and FREE!) find for wacky tourist spots is RoadsideAmerica.com, a continually updated site devoted to helping you find offbeat tourist attractions in your state. For starters, they have a top-twenty list of weird creatures not far off the beaten path.
Document
Once you’ve got your lists, it’s time to hit the road. Don’t forget to take lots of pics to post and share with your friends (a good tool for recruiting fellow travelers), and as you start marking items off your list, try to add more!
photo by porah
June 30th, 2009
It must be summer now, because the San Diego County Fair has just opened up, and I am happy to say I was there on opening day, over-priced tickets and all. And it was just as fun as I remembered it being.
Keep it Cheap
So fair admission this year is a whopping $13, which I frankly find pretty ridiculous. So to keep in line with that little budget conversation we had earlier, I’d suggest that you look around for the deals.
- Check local grocery stores–usually at least one chain will have a deal with the fair to sell discounted tickets.
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- If you’re willing to fight the crowds, check the calendar for discount days. The SD fair had a $2 ticket day today, and you could also get discounted food in smaller portions.
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- Bring your own lunch and save your spending money for rides or the classic fair-only food. (No need to waste money on a taco you could get across the street for less.)
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- Check the ticket for a coupon before you toss it. Our fair tickets had an unadvertised deal where they get you an adult movie ticket for the child price. Others allow you to get cheap readmission.
Hit the Highlights
Surprisingly, there is a lot to do beyond just riding the rides. So whether you spend your whole day there or just go for a few hours, make sure you hit the highlights by checking the program.
- Fair Food. Since I’m usually pretty well-behaved food-wise, I give myself a free pass to eat whatever unhealthy thing I want at the fair. I really want to try a fried Snickers sometime, but apparently the hot item this year is chocolate covered bacon.
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- Animal Shows. I adore dogs, so we made our trip the day they were doing preliminaries for the Purina Incredible Dog challenge. It was like the dog olympics, and very entertaining. We also watched pig races, which were very cute.
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- Music. A surprising number of popular artists play at large county fairs, and the price of admission usually includes their concerts. Another reason you should check the calendar before you go.
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- Fair Competitions. I can’t ride a horse, make jam, or raise chickens, but I really enjoy learning about how other people do it. The fair competition buildings usually have some amazing sewing, baking, and art, all from locals. It’s kind of fun to see if you have a budding Monet living next door.
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- Vendors. At the San Diego Fair you can buy a full-size spa tub, Hawaiian flowers, and a Sham-Wow, and that is just when you walk in the door of the first building. I love watching the demonstrations of Ginsu knives and getting samples of all kinds of random shampoos and ring cleaners. It’s like living inside an infomercial.
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- People Watching. Seriously, fairgrounds have an intensely amusing and diverse group of people. Grab a corn dog and watch them go by.
photo by egonsch
June 23rd, 2009
I know we talk a lot of “grown-up” and “practical” around here, but I don’t want you to forget that college really means the transition years between childhood and adulthood–and what does that mean?
Well, that you need to still be a kid sometimes. And you need to remember how to do it when the grown-up world takes you over.
The college years can be some of the most fun of your life, so here are some fresh, fun, and funky ways to document the good times so you can share and remember:
- Things We Wore. One of my friends started this great blog entitled Things We Wore. It’s devoted to chronicling the simple fact of what she wore when she went, did, and saw. If you’ve ever looked at (and mocked) your parents’ high school fashion choices, you know this will be fun to look back on.
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- “What I Did This Summer” Documentary. Our senior year of high school, my friends and I put together a collection of last-chance activities and random pranks to pull on each other, and videoed them. My best friend and I edited together our footage, and we had a “premier” party at the end of the summer, before everyone started college. Looking back, it is both embarrassing and nostalgic–a good combination of both.
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- Weird Hometown. Have you ever checked out one of those Weird U.S. books? They chronicle the weird and wacky locations around the country, from haunted houses to over-sized dinosaur statues. Why not blog the oddities of your hometown, college town or campus, or summer vacay spot? Make sure you include your favorite local hangouts and what is wonderful or wacky about them.Here’s one of my favorite weird things at my alma mater, UCSD: The grafitti staircase in the Mandeville art building.
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- Start (and Record) a Band. Sounds are a huge part of memory, so my friends and I tried this too, with hilarious results. We were terrible musicians (of course) but spent a lot of time and effort putting on backyard concerts and recording our music. Now whenever we play an mp3 we remember how ridiculous and fun summer was.
Hope that gave you an idea for a little something different.
photo by johnridley
June 19th, 2009
How many of us use TV, the internet, or an iPod to escape the stress of family, school, and work?
You don’t have to raise your hand–I’m pretty sure we all do it, at least to some extent. But if you’re anything like me, you enjoy the mindless web surfing while it’s going on, but feel like you haven’t accomplished much at the end of the day. So kids, its time for us to get a hobby.
Outside the Box
Summer is the perfect time to get into something new, and if you find a good fit now you’ll have something relaxing and fulfilling to do with your free time when the school year starts. So I’ve thought outside the proverbial and literal box (by which I mean TV, computer, and iPod) and come up with some great new outlets for your energies.
Ready? Here we go:
- Want the same thrill of Halo with a little more action? Try paintballing or airsoft. (Just remember to follow the safety rules. My brother literally got shot in the eye and almost went blind!)
- Good old Oprah shares How to Start a Book Club
- Or, if you’re hungry for something more substantial than literature, Start a Cooking Club instead
- Want to make movies with your friends? Get inspired by these amateur film-makers who got their start in college (at my Alma Mater!)
- Learn How to Crochet or Knit from Knitting Help
- Want to learn Yoga? I like this Yoga Cardio DVD from Gaiam (the 30 minute workout is the perfect length)
- Okay this is back in a box, but what about Teaching Yourself HTML and CSS Stylesheets (at the very least it will teach you how to make your blog more appealing…)
- Learn how to Start a Skateboarding Club (or any other sport you’re interested in) when you get back to school
- Start keeping a journal with these Journal Prompts
- Start a “Meetup” group for something you are interested in, from running to painting, anything goes
- Find your local YMCA or library and see what kind of classes they offer–I’ve seen everything from martial arts to music programs and practically everything in between!
Keep it Up
If you find something you really click with this summer, don’t let it slide during school! It will be easy and tempting to slip back into your old afternoon TV rituals, but don’t let your electronics rule your life!
And what is the other great reason for you to take up a new hobby? That’s right–you can put most of these on your resume or scholarship applications. And who doesn’t like a healthier resume?
As always, feel free to share your own tips and thoughts in the comments. And feel free to offer suggestions for future posts you’d like to see!
Photo by tangerine1
June 12th, 2009
Lots of us–I’d hope to say even most of us–love our families. But that does not mean that we want to spend a day riding mini-rides at Legoland or following Mom around Monticello. So if your parents are insisting on some family time when all you want to do is go to the mall with your friends, I am happy to say that I have a few tips for how to (hopefully) enjoy fulfilling the family-time requirements of the summer.
(Okay, and actually, I am secretly a big fan of Monticello… 
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Plan It Yourself
Want to give your parents a shock and knock out some family-bonding at the same time? I’d suggest planning a family excursion yourself. It will get you some good credit with your parents, and, best of all, it means you can choose something you actually want to do.
Split Up
The best family outings have a little something for everyone–it means everyone can split off in different directions when you start to get on each other’s nerves. This is especially important for families where interests are very different, or there is a huge age range between the kids.
I suggest keeping it simple. Make a trip to the park or the beach. Pack some snacks or lunch for a picnic, and make it clear beforehand that its supposed to be a relaxing time. Mom can read the book she got at the library, your little brothers can build a sandcastle or play frisbee, your sister can feed birds, and you and Dad can go for a run. Its all about being flexible while being together.
Get it Together
If your parents don’t buy in to the separate-but-together idea, or if you secretly kind of want to have some real quality bonding time, try doing something new together. Getting family members of all ages together for something completely new can be fun (and sometimes hilarious, depending on what you attempt–can you imagine your Dad joining you for a hip hop class?).
Try taking a class together, even if it is just a one-day class. Artistic classes like dance or pottery can be good individual activities to do together, or something like a cooking lesson can be good to get everyone working as a team.
Attitude Adjustment
Just like in most other areas of life, your attitude is the real secret to enjoying your family. So if you’re feeling bummed out by your siblings (or parents) try to adjust your point of view.
First, shift your perspective. If you have the kind of family that wants to spend time together, that is something to be grateful for. Not everyone can claim that. It means that your parents and sibs value you, your presence, and your place in the family. So that’s pretty cool.
Second, make the decision to have fun. That really makes a huge difference. Decide that you’re going to try to make everyone else enjoy themselves, too. So if you’re waiting in a long line or trapped in the car, play games with your bored brother. If you’re visiting the same museum for the fouth time, learn something new, or compete with your sister to see who knows the museum guide’s speech better.
In a few months you’ll be back at school, so make the most of this time while you have it–you might actually miss it when you head back.
Photo: Family’s Happy Day by Marcos Santos
May 27th, 2009
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